The MWC tutors have identified these sites as ones that are personally useful to them. In the annotation that follows each site, a tutor explains that benefits of the site. While the MWC tutors hope you find these sites useful, we encourage you to come and visit us for a face-to-face session in the Writing Center.
Audience
Audience (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
In every piece of writing, no matter the subject, there is always an audience involved. It is important to identify this group before beginning the writing process because they guide all aspects of a paper. Word choice, tone, structure, and other features change depending on who is reading a work! This resource will help with identifying an audience and tailoring language to a specific readership. J.D.
Close Reading
How to Analyze a Text (The University of Texas at El Paso)
One of the most common assignments given by professors across the country is reading outside of class, and with these assignments comes the expectation that students will be prepared to discuss the readings in class. But what if the reading you’re assigned doesn’t make any sense? Without a clear strategy, readings can quickly become too complex or confusing to pinpoint the main idea. This site offers specific questions that students can refer to in order to discover the meaning of a text. C.B
Questions to ask while reading literature (Hamilton College)
Being an active reader is a crucial component of the writing process. Thinking about a text as you read it will not only demystify the early stages of developing an argument for a paper but make that author’s argument more interesting and compelling (and also save you the trouble of flipping back to the first chapter to discern details you may have missed the first time). This handout provides questions to ask yourself as you read a text and prepare to write about it, as well as general tips to help you get the most out of a close reading. L.H.
Writing in the Disciplines
Writing for History Majors (Boston University)
Historians have a unique approach to writing. This link provides notes on using and citing secondary and primary sources, style, plagiarism, as well as the writing process for historians. C.B.
Organizing Papers in Different Disciplines (Hamilton College)
Is this your first time writing an essay in a new academic area? Take a glance at this article, which features general suggestions and guidelines for writing formal papers about philosophy, poetry, and the sciences. The sections describe the basic goal of each kind of paper and discuss how to go about writing an effective paper in the respective fields. For additional help, the article concludes with a list of links to other guides. E.B.
Plagiarism, Citations, Annotated Bibliographies and Footnotes
Annotated Bibliographies (Purdue University)
Sometimes creating a “works cited” page is not an adequate way to represent your sources. If this is your first assignment that needs to include an annotated bibliography (or if you just need a refresher), then this article will be of great use to you. After describing annotated bibliography and what it should include, the article offers some thoughts on why annotated bibliographies are utilized. Finally, this page concludes with some tips and general guidelines for proper formatting. E.B
Avoiding Plagiarism (MIT)
Citation, citation, citation. Learning proper citation techniques is critical to avoiding plagiarism. Review this site to learn how to properly quote, paraphrase, and summarize while avoiding unintentional plagiarism. E.S.
Avoiding Plagiarism (University of Wisconsin)
What exactly is plagiarism? Some people can plagiarize and not even realize it. Check out this site to learn exactly what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. J.W.
Resumes and Personal Statements
Writing the Personal Statement (Purdue University)
Want to make your personal statement stand out among the sea of grad school applications? Get inspired! This site has tons of generative questions to help you unblock your writer’s block. It also includes some useful do’s and don’ts that will help you avoid common mistakes and set yourself apart from the crowd. M.K.N.
Thesis/Hypothesis and Organization
Developing a Central Claim (Duke University)
If your essays seem unconvincing or insubstantial, it might not be due to poor writing. The strength of your thesis has influences the quality of the paper. Here are some qualities of a convincing thesis with some tips on how to write one. B.Z.
The Thesis Statement (Dartmouth College)
The thesis sentence is the most basic building block of a paper. As basic as the concept is, it is essential to the paper, as it guides the whole paper and explains its purpose. The Dartmouth Writing Center explains the importance of the thesis sentence in the argument of a paper and how to construct a successful one. C.C.
Thesis Statements (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Are you struggling to figure out what a thesis statement should be or how to write one? To prevent the thesis statement from becoming your enemy, you should take a glance at this article, which breaks down the construction of a thesis statement into several mini guides (from “how to develop a thesis statement” all the way to “the final product.”) No matter where you are in your thesis-writing process, this series of guides should be really helpful. E.B
Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement – (Purdue University)
Start strong! A well-written thesis statement often leads to a well-written paper. Whether you are beginning an analytical, expository, or argumentative paper, a concise and specific thesis statement is a vital start. Want to develop your thesis statement? Not sure where to start? This site will provide helpful tips and examples. E.S.Transitions and Paragraphs
Providing Evidence (Indiana University)
Would you be convinced by an unsupported argument? Yeah, well, neither would your professor.In essay writing, evidence is based on facts about which you have formed an opinion. Indiana University’s writing services center provides a useful guide to effectively incorporating evidence by use of quotations and also notes three different ways to do citations. F.A.
On Paragraphs (Purdue University)
Paragraphs are much more than a mere string of sentences. In fact, organized paragraphs are essential to communicating your fantastic ideas to the reader. This site explains the structure of a coherent paragraph and provides advice on everything from topic sentences to concluding observations. M.K.N.
Transitions (University of North Carolina)
Sometimes it is a challenge to get from one thought to the next. Sometimes our paragraphs just seem out of place. Sometime we just need something to hold our words together. Transitions are the solutions to all of our problems. Well, maybe not all of our problems, but certainly the ones I just named. This site provides explanations for proper transition use as well as tips to recognize when you need to improve your transitions and how